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26 Jun 2025
Summer reaches its dramatic peak. The city is empty. Almost. Somewhere between the melting tarmac and your air conditioning unit’s noble last breath, a few artsy oases still flourish. This guide is for the sun-defiant: the brave, the bored, the culturally curious. The upside? No queues. No influencers. No matching tour group caps. Just you and the art. Let's begin.
NO TRESPASSING
Where? Ishara Art Foundation, Alserkal Avenue, Dubai
When? July 4 – August 30
(We have spoken to curator Priyanka Mehra — catch our conversation here)
The streets have entered the gallery. Kindly wipe your feet at the door. No Trespassing, the first-ever summer show at Ishara Art Foundation, is a stylishly disobedient takeover of the white cube. Curated by Priyanka Mehra, it features six UAE-based and South Asian artists who treat the street not just as subject, but as medium, canvas, co-conspirator.
Expect graffiti ghosts, rogue signage, chipped walls and buried memories — all polished into conceptual brilliance. H11235 (yes, really) works from afar, turning absence into presence. Rami Farook saw the white wall and took it personally — then surgically removed it. Fatspatrol reclaims discarded urban flotsam and turns it into poetry. Sara Alahbabi maps Abu Dhabi’s underfoot soul. Khaled Esguerra invites you to stomp on paper promises. Salma Dib turns walls into layered memory.
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Khaled Esguerra, Prototype of Heritage Legacy Authentic (2025). Photography by Khaled Esguerra
I PUT MY BRAIN ON PAUSE! by Ihab Ahmad
Where? Firetti Contemporary, Dubai
When? June 20 – August 20
Not everything in the summer needs to be deep-fried or deadly serious. Lebanese artist Ihab Ahmad gives us a vibrant, emotionally sincere breather from overthinking in I PUT MY BRAIN ON PAUSE! — a series of works full of bold colours, left-handed brushstrokes, and smiling faces that dare to be… kind.
It is a show that whispers, “Feel something.” Then yells it. The naïve style isn't naïve at all — it is the result of an artist actively letting go of precision in favour of truth. There are also whimsical sculptures and, oh yes, a Lamborghini that has been thoroughly and unapologetically transformed into art.
This isn't the kind of work people say, “My child could do that.” Unless your child is in therapy and drives a Lamborghini.
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Summer Mix
Where? Opera Gallery, Dubai
When? Until September 1
Like your art bold, famous, and fabulously inconsistent? Summer Mix at Opera Gallery is your buffet. A little KAWS here, some Takashi Murakami there, with dashes of Fairey, Xevi Solà, OS GEMEOS and others thrown in like confetti.
There is no overarching theme beyond “art you will definitely Instagram,” which is perfectly fine. Pop culture, political messages, abstract ruminations, gestural figuration, and a random steel sculpture — all cohabiting under one very air-conditioned roof.
A great place to feel cultured without reading a single label. You didn't hear it from us.
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Adjei Tawiah, Pearl Necklace (2023); Xevi Solà, ALICIA (2024)
Graphic Dissent by Tasmeem
Where? ICD Brookfield Place, Dubai
When? Opening on July 8, 7 pm
Design fights back — politely but pointedly — in this year’s Graphic Dissent, a poster exhibition that blends printmaking, typography, and protest with the elegance of an exasperated sigh.
Curated with care and urgency, the posters tackle everything from cultural memory to ecological despair. Think of it as an activist Pinterest board, but with actual stakes and significantly better kerning.
Bring your opinions, and possibly a notebook for the sudden ideas that will start bubbling halfway through. This is visual resistance dressed as graphic design.
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Jennifer Lopez: Up All Night Live
Where? Etihad Arena, Abu Dhabi
When? July 29
Time to put down your cultural monocle and pick up your glitter bodysuit. Jennifer Lopez returns for one dazzling night of pop nostalgia, dancefloor dominance, and choreography that will leave breathless anyone but Queen Lopez.
This is not merely a concert. This is your chance to relive 2010 — when J Lo was on your playlist, your gym motivation, and probably your ringtone. Expect every hit, every hip movement, and possibly a moment of emotional clarity during On The Floor.
We dare you not to scream. Though obviously you should.
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Harry Potter: The Exhibition
Where? Manarat Al Saadiyat, Abu Dhabi
When? From July 25
Millennials, assemble. The ultimate immersive tribute to your magical adolescence is coming to Abu Dhabi. Wands, robes, nostalgia — all present and accounted for.
It is all here: Hagrid’s Hut, Patronus charms, Quidditch challenges, Hungarian Horntails and Hogwarts house points. Interactive, theatrical, and expertly tailored for you to say “Accio serotonin!” while buying a wand you don't need.
It is your childhood, just with better lighting and a gift shop.
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